Orange County awarded funds to support Census Count

Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus and the County’s Planning Department have announced the availability of New York State grant funds to support ongoing efforts to ensure an accurate and full 2020 Census Count.

“These funds awarded by New York State will assist in outreach efforts and will help ensure that Orange County is accurately counted during the census,” Neuhaus said in the press release detailing the funding. “A correct count is critical to receiving our fair share of Federal and State grants and reimbursements. The Census is an important component of our economic security and helps us to plan. I encourage all residents to cooperate fully with Census staff and to complete the forms associated with this year’s Census.”

April 1 is Census Day

As a part of the State’s outreach effort, Orange County has been deemed eligible to receive up to $433,981 in funding under the Census 2020 Complete Count Outreach Grant to support efforts to encourage residents in hard-to-count populations of the county to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire.

The grant requires that 75 percent of the funds received by the county must be allocated to pre-qualified Not for Profits (NFP’s) that will partner with the County to perform eligible outreach activities.

For an NFP to be considered for a sub-grant award from Orange County, NFP’s must complete a two-step process.

April 1st is Census Day for the next census; the nation's once-per-decade, constitutionally mandated count of every American, regardless of their citizenship status. The decennial census is one of the nation's most important programs. New Yorkers' fair share of federal funds for programs essential to health care, education, housing, economic development and transportation, as well as our congressional representation in Washington, all depend on an accurate and full-count census response.

For more information about the grants and instruction on how to apply, log onto ny.gov/programs/2020-census.